Parasitologists have their own definition of the summer season - the season of helminths.In the warm season, various types of parasites feel comfortable and actively multiply.
You can meet them everywhere - in rural gardens, at picnics and communicating with our smaller brothers.How can you avoid this meeting and what to do if it does happen?
Worms or helminths are parasites that affect humans, animals and even plants.It was once widely believed that helminth infections were the fate of unscrupulous people, but today it is known that this is not the case.Nobody is safe from helminth infection.And according to expert estimates, worms affect 70 to 95% of the world's population.
Signs of helminthiasis
There are often situations when it is not easy to guess such a neighborhood.The symptoms of the presence of parasites in the body are nonspecific.In some they cause intestinal discomfort, in others asthenia, and in others they do not feel anything at all.Experts warn that worms can live undetected in the human body for years.However, a lot depends not only on your individual characteristics, but also on the type of parasites themselves.
The risk groups for helminth infection include people with weakened immune systems and children under 3 years of age.The acidity of gastric juice in a healthy adult is most often fatal to worms.Parasites live in every sandbox, and if a baby likes to put his fingers in his mouth, it can end sadly.
Pediatrician Maxim Pereverzentsev claims that there are at least fifty worm eggs in every square meter of sandbox.In addition, young children often play with pets that carry parasite eggs on their fur or in their saliva.
Enterobiasis
The most common childhood parasites are pinworms, which cause the disease enterobiasis.It is not difficult to suspect their presence.At night, pinworms lay eggs in the anus area, which causes severe itching in humans.Other symptoms include decreased appetite and restless sleep.Enterobiasis needs to be treated, and only a doctor can help with this.A little-known fact: If a child is infected with worms, the vaccinations given to him will not be effective.
Here are some other symptoms that may indicate the presence of worms in the human body: abdominal pain, rashes, allergic reactions, increased salivation, constipation or diarrhea, nausea.
Of the three hundred species of worms known worldwide, the two most common in our country are pinworms and roundworms that parasitize the intestines.According to laboratory diagnostician Vasily Yurasov, at least half of our country's population has either one or the other.
Ascariasis
For example, at the dacha it is quite easy to become infected with roundworms - there are plenty of them in our garden beds.They enter the body through poorly washed vegetables and leafy greens.The lifespan of a roundworm is measured at two years, and as Yurasov says, ascariasis can theoretically disappear on its own (to continue to exist, the worm must be in the soil).However, these worms can seriously ruin your life during these two years, as they affect not only the gastrointestinal tract, but also the respiratory tract.Most often, ascariasis is manifested by skin dermatitis, muscle pain, stool disorders and dry cough that worsens at night.If there are many roundworms, they can lead to the development of pancreatitis, appendicitis, cholecystitis, intestinal obstruction and liver abscess.
Toxoporosis
Toxoporosis is transmitted through pets and causes damage to the liver and mucous membranes of the eyes.Poorly fried kebabs or insufficiently smoked or salted fish (most often carp and common carp) transmit tapeworms and liver flukes.
If we talk about the diagnosis of helminths, everything is not so simple here.Each of us has been tested for eggworms at least once in our lives (for example, to obtain a certificate for a swimming pool), but it is quite difficult to detect them in research materials.For example, roundworms release eggs every few days.Therefore, in order to understand the real situation, such tests must be carried out at least three days in a row, says laboratory diagnostician Vasily Yurasov.
Diagnosis and treatment of helminthiasis
In addition, if there is a serious suspicion of the presence of worms in the body, the doctor may prescribe an additional test - a stool test for worms.Based on the results of this analysis, a specialist can detect the presence of helminths in the body using a number of indirect signs.Another important aid in determining helminthic infestation is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent blood test, which allows you to determine antibodies to various types of parasites.To complete the picture, the doctor may prescribe the patient a routine biochemical blood test.For example, if a person turns out to have exceeded the normative value of eosinophils, it is quite possible that the reason lies in the presence of something else in his body.
Parasites should only be treated under the strict supervision of a specialist.You should contact a therapist or parasitologist.As far as prevention goes, it's quite simple.Wash your hands as often as possible, thoroughly rinse the greens from your garden beds, fry meat and fish well, and don't let your pets eat too much.Good folk remedies for prevention include pumpkin seeds, ginger and tansy.